Umeh, who fielded questions from journalists in Awka yesterday, warned Obasanjo
not to misinterpret the president’s humility as weakness, contending that he
(Obasanjo) ought to be in jail for crimes against humanity, following the
brutal invasion of Odi and Zakibiam towns by the army.
Reacting to Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan, last week, Umeh called on Nigerians
to hold the former president responsible for the country’s present woes.
According to Umeh, Obasanjo bungled the bright opportunity of repositioning and
launching the country into greatness.
He
noted that instead of uniting the land on assumption of office in 1999,
Obasanjo engaged in a war of attrition with Ndigbo, even as he continued to
undermine their growth and welfare.
The APGA boss regretted that Obasanjo’s administration continued to promote
ethnic and religion differences that resulted in violence and loss of
lives.
Umeh said: “Obasanjo’s letter was a confirmation of the heavy blow his
administration dealt on democracy when election rigging and manipulations were
used to muzzle opposition parties. APGA suffered the same terrible fate in
2003, when its victory was given to PDP, and it took three years of legal
battle to reclaim the mandate.
“Under the former president, corruption and impunity became a way of life in
the country, when a privileged few where given monopoly on economic powers.”
He pointed out that the elder statesman has no positive reference point
or legacy for the people of Nigeria and should, therefore, not to be taken seriously.
Umeh said the billions of dollars wasted on the power sector during Obasanjo’s
regime are yet to be accounted for.
He urged Jonathan to ignore such diversionary tendencies and continue his
dedicated and commendable service of building enduring democratic institutions.
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